I WAS enjoying my morning coffee as I opened my e-mails to check early senders. I found several business and personal mails, but what caught me lingering on was that of Oliver’s article for the week published in his column ‘OFW Tales’, on The Freeman. (Oliver sends me a copy of of his article every week.)

Oliver Amoroso, an ex-GMA7 media specialist now based in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and who maintains regular communication with associates and friends here in the Philippines (of which I am lucky to be one), has the following to say about liking, loving and getting addicted to the beverage of all time: coffee.

The Authentic Coffee Experience by Oliver B. Amoroso

IT wasn’t until I started working that I began drinking coffee regularly and became what yuppies dread to be: ‘coffee-holic’.

Coffee is a cultural obsession not only in tropical cities like Cebu, Manila, Davao, Riyadh, New Delhi, Ammam, Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, etc. Chains with thousand of branches like Dunkin’ Donuts or Starbucks dominate our daily life. Especially in the morning (according to a latest report, 90% of coffee consumed in the US is in the morning), millions of white foamy cups are carried across streets in morning rush hour. In Europe, coffee drive-ins are a saving grace for the rushing army of helmeted and tattoed construction workers. During lunch breaks, men and women in savvy business suits duck into coffee shops. Students, in almost all parts of the globe, chill out from early afternoon till late evening on comfy couches at coffee lounges around campus.

Prior to my coming to the Middle East, I didn’t know that the word ‘coffee’ is derived from the Arab ‘gahwa’ meaning ‘that which prevents sleep’. Arabs cooked coffee beans in boiling water since as far back as the 9th century and drank the stimulating extract as an alternative to the Muslims’ forbidden alcohol. These days, coffee is second only to oil as the most valuable ‘legally’ traded product in the world with a total trade value of $70 billion. Interestingly, only $8 billion reaches coffee production. The remaining $64 billion is generated as surplus value in the consumption countries. Small farmers grow 70% of world coffee production. They mainly grow two kinds of coffee beans: Arabica and Robusta. About 20 million people in the world are directly dependent on coffee production for their subsistence.

Before I left Manila last year, I spoiled myself with cafe lattés from Starbucks, Bo’s Coffee, Coffee Bean since I was told coffee abroad is quite expensive. (tall size: SR14 x Php 13.50 = Php189.00). I was surprised when I was offered a gahwa (Arabian coffee) aboard the Saudi Airlines. I learned from the Filipino stewardess, Marie, that a blend is usually made from 25 grams of ground Arabic coffee, 35 grams of crushed cardamom and 1 liter of water.

Gahwa is an age old custom

This preparation, serving and grinding of gahwa, are individual rituals derived from the Arabian Bedouin hospitality. These traditions are still practiced today with the same ceremonies and etiquette prevailing over centuries. Coffee was first thought to have originated in Yemen on the Arabian peninsula when it was seen growing there by Europeans at a much later date. But the botranical evidence indicates that the coffee plant ‘Coffee Arabica’ originated from the plateaus of central Ethiopia where it still grows wild. Somehow the Arab traders got the beans from Ethiopia across the Red Sea to Yemen around the 6th Century A.D.

The legend that I was told

According to legend, Arabian coffee drinking began almost 12 centuries ago (850 A.D.) when an Abyssinian goat herder named Khalid noticed that while the afternoon sun made him drowsy, his flock frolicked and skipped about after nibbling at some berries. Khalid either ate the berries whole, or grounded and boiled them.

When his wife saw how energetic the normally exhausted Khalid was, she urged him to share this miraculous discovery with the local holy man at the monastery. The chief monk did not share Khalid’s enthusiasm. Declaring the berries ‘the work of the Devil’, he flung them into a fire to banish their offending presence. Soon the room filled with the delicious aroma of roasting berries, and other monks hurried in to discover the source of this new delight. The chief monk retrieved the smoldering berries, deposited them in water and instructed the other monks to sip the elixir. As they drank it down heartily, they experienced the clarity and vigor Khalid had described. The brew was proclaimed a miracle and was then used to keep them awake during their evening prayers!

The ingredients and the ‘ritual’ preparation

Gahwa is never sweetened with sugar. Instead, fresh dates are offered to accompany the aromatic brew. The papery skinned fingers of fruit contain 55% natural sugar which refresh and sweeten the palate between each sip of gahwa.

The gahwa ritual starts when the host places a set of four coffee pots, called della, next to an open fire. He pours the coffee beans onto a mahmasa, a shallow, long-handled iron pan which he holds just above the flames. He stirs the roasting beans from time to time with a yad al mahmasa, which is attached by a chain to the small pan. When the beans are cooked they are left to cool before being pulverized with a  pestle in a mortar called mahbash. When pounding the beans it is necessary to strike the side of the mortar occasionally with the pestle to free the grounds from sticking together. This noise is considered music and the guests should listen carefully and show appreciation of the host’s artistic expression. The largest della contains the coffee grounds from previous days, so water is poured into the third della which is then filled with the freshly brewed coffee from the second pot and brought to the boil again. Finally the gahwa is poured into the fourth and smallest pot ready to serve.

The tradition of serving gahwa is the Middle Eastern host’s privilege to serve his guests. To refuse the first round is considered an insult to the host. Strict rules of etiquette are observed in the serving order. If only men are present, the most important person in the room is served first. Age takes precedence if there is any doubt as to rank.

Until a few years ago, men were always served before women. Today the custom is often reversed particularly if expatriates - including Pinoys, are among the guests. The cups are only half filled, but guests may have several refills. It is polite to accept an odd number of cups - one, three or five. When the guest is finished, he should jiggle the empty cup from side to side, indicating to the host that he has had sufficient coffee. To be served a cup of this unique beverage is more than just a refreshment, it is considered proof that the guest is revered and honored in Saudi Arabia. The host will say “Ahlan Wa Sahlan” (Welcome) when offering a cup of gahwa.